QPR to visit Malaysia, Indonesia

KUALA LUMPUR: English Premier League football club Queens Park Rangers will visit Malaysia and Indonesia next month in their first pre-season Asia tour, sponsor AirAsia has announced.

QPR will play friendlies against local teams in Sabah on July 17 and Kuala Lumpur on July 20, the airline said in a statement late Friday.

This will be followed by a match against a local team in Indonesia’s Surabaya on July 23, the kit sponsor and club partner said.

QPR chief executive Philip Beard said the team hoped the tour was “the first of many more opportunities”.

“This is a massive step for QPR to come and play in Asia… Everyone at the club is extremely excited by the tour, and we hope it allows as many of our fans as possible in Asia to watch the team in action,” he said.

Malaysia has hosted several top English Premier League clubs, who have been increasingly keen to nurture a fan base and help attract sponsors in Asia.

In April, Manchester City announced it would visit the Southeast Asian country for the first time, playing a squad of Malaysian League players on July 30 in Kuala Lumpur.

A week earlier, on July 23, Arsenal will hold an open training session in Kuala Lumpur followed by a match against Malaysian League players the next night. The two English clubs will also visit China.

Tony Fernandes, chief executive officer of budget carrier AirAsia, became a QPR majority shareholder last year, alongside two other partners.

-AFP

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